Squeeky Floorboards

dannyxx25 · 26 February 2010 at 5:18PM

I have pine wood floorboards, if I take out all the nails and replace them with screws they'll stop squeeking, right?

What's the best way to remove the nails, without damaging the floorboards?

I'll be using the holes left behind by the nails as pilot holes for the screws.

Ionkontrol · 26 February 2010 at 5:21PM

Add screws as necessary, no need to remove nails. You would have to dig out the wood to get to the heads of the nails.

dannyxx25 · 26 February 2010 at 5:40PM

Thanks for the reply. Thing is I live in a top floor apartment and am having a central heating system installed with the pipework going under the floorboards. I want to try and keep them easily accessable.

ormus · 26 February 2010 at 5:46PM

you can cut a circle (carefully) around the nail (try a stanley blade).
and then lever it out with side cutters and using a packing piece.
always use a bit of waste wood under your tool/s. saves the main item youre working on.

leveller2911 · 26 February 2010 at 6:00PM

dannyxx25 wrote: »

I have pine wood floorboards, if I take out all the nails and replace them with screws they'll stop squeeking, right?

What's the best way to remove the nails, without damaging the floorboards?

I'll be using the holes left behind by the nails as pilot holes for the screws.

You can put screws in along side the nails as others have said, BUT suppose the nail is close to a pipe?,which side of the nail do you put the scew in?.The safest way is to take the boards up and check for pipes and cables before you attempt to fix the boards..

What you must do is Drill a pilot hole in the floor board.Drill the hole big enough to be able to push the screw into the floor board without any resistance(but not into the joist) ,then screw in the scew and the floor board will go down tight.
If you don't drill the pilot hole correctly then when you come to screw home the screw it will feel tight but the floor board won't be fully down and will still squeek.The biggest mistake people make is not drilling the correct pilot hole.That and putting a screw through a pipe or cable..

dannyxx25 · 26 February 2010 at 6:01PM

Is there some sort of special tool for the job?

olias · 26 February 2010 at 6:07PM

A screwdriver!:p

Olias

ormus · 26 February 2010 at 6:11PM

dannyxx25 wrote: »

Is there some sort of special tool for the job?

yes. hes called a joiner, and he will charge you 200/400 quid per day.

joe14729 · 26 February 2010 at 10:17PM

Get yourself a small (10-12mm) holesaw and remove the drill bit from it and you should be able to cut round the nail heads fairly neatly to a depth of about 6-7mm using a drill. This will allow you to get some leverage on the nailheads with some sort of small prybar or similar. Some old carpenters pincers have small nail/tacklifter type ends on the handles which may do the trick. Be careful when using the holesaw without the arbor/drill bit, as the tool won,t be self-centreing and will chatter round the nailhead. I suggest you try on a bit of scrap wood first to see if you can hold it without it wandering too much. If the nails turn out to be very old cut nails or are rusty, then you may find that they will break easily and the only alternative is to either punch them all the way in or lift your floorboards to get at them. As Leveller sugested, drill a clearance (ie, bigger than the screw shank) hole through the fllorboard, and a pilot ( slightly smaller than the screw shank ) into the joist to allow the screw to penetrate easily. Not an easy or quick job, so good luck.